Covanta Holding Corp. is taking over operations of the Pinellas County waste-to-energy (WTE) facility in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The county selected the Morristown, N.J.-based Covanta to operate its Resource Recovery Facility for a 10-year term after a competitive procurement process. Covanta also has begun several capital projects to improve operations at the facility, according to a news release.

The WTE facility processes about 3,150 tons of solid waste per day into enough renewable energy to power about 40,000 homes. The facility also recovers about 26,000 tons of metal annually for recycling.

Pinellas County’s WTE facility uses Martin GmbH technology, and Covanta is the North American licensee for that expertise. The Martin technology is used in 23 of Covanta’s North American facilities.

Covanta also brings its safety program to the Pinellas facility.

"We are extremely pleased to have been chosen by Pinellas County to be the new operator of the Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility," said Anthony Orlando, Covanta president and CEO. "We have a strong track record of successfully integrating and restoring facilities, and we look forward to welcoming our new client and employees into the Covanta family."

Of Covanta’s 42 waste-to-energy facilities in North America, the company assumed operations from another company or operator with 22 of those units.